POLK COUNTY, Fla. — When a pregnant woman is in crisis, it could be difficult for her to make decisions in the best interest of the baby.
“A newborn is such a gentle, innocent person, and the reality is that everyone should have the opportunity to live a fruitful life,” said Dr. Hezedean Smith, Polk County Fire Rescue Chief.
After two women in Polk County disposed of their newborn babies earlier this year, Chief Smith wanted to bring awareness to the options parents have.
In January, a newborn girl was discovered alive in the woods in Mulberry, and a stillborn baby was found in a dumpster in Lakeland in May.
“It did affect me in a way that made me wonder what else can we do as public servants of making the public more aware of those opportunities,” Smith said.
All of Polk County Fire Rescue’s 49 stations are designated as Safe Haven locations for newborns. Now, Safe Haven decals have been placed on all fire trucks, emergency response vehicles, and ambulances to remind residents of this.
Safe Haven locations, which also include hospitals and emergency rooms, are places where women can safely surrender their newborns up to seven days old. According to the law, babies must be handed to an employee at the fire station and not left outside.
“We’re planning to hopefully take it a step further by introducing the baby boxes as well, as we move forward with our new stations and probably even our existing stations,” Smith said.
The new decals provide contact information for the nonprofit organization A Safe Haven for Newborns.
“We help moms with counseling, shelter, abuse issues, suicide calls, baby items. We assist them with implementing the Safe Haven program, so we’re here to help them,” said Nick Silverio, founder of A Safe Haven for Newborns.
According to Silverio, there have been 10 newborns safely surrendered in Florida this year.
